Ffffffff airline travel... Seriously.

Clark1961 said:
http://potomac-aviation.com/for-all-pilots/

Not sure accurate weather reporting is really a problem with the system itself. The one's I've encountered have been okay. Any automatic weather reporting system has to be tested when installed and then properly maintained.
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Not sure what to think about that. I have never heard of these before.

David
 
UngaWunga said:
I would fly airlines less if refundable tickets were cheaper/available. Hard to predict weather a month or more out.
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Can't you just get a full refund if you don't use it?

Or you can change the date to the next trip, maybe indefinitely.
 
Art VanDelay said:
And who is actually responsible for that ? Maybe the traveling public that think air travel is a constitutionally guarunteed right. If you want to shlep yourself and all of your crap from one side of this country to the other for less than the cost of driving it in a Prius then guess what - it ain't likely to be pretty.
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The "bus people" have been accommodated with cheap tickets at the expense to those of us who value a less steerage-class experience and would be willing to pay a premium.
 
flhrci said:
Not sure what to think about that. I have never heard of these before.
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They sound a little strange the first time you encounter one. The radio check function is cute.
 
Lol, well I'm no fan of the airlines, but I seriously question some of the animosity here. Getting "raped" by the TSA is just such a stretch from what usually happens. Granted I travel enough that I justified the "pre-check" expense, but walking through a detector and removing metal/shoes is about the worst of it. With pre-check, I just remove the metal and walk through with my shoes on. I don't have to open my back, pull the laptop out, etc. I'm all for calling TSA a waste of time and resources given their intended purpose, but if you aren't stupid they are usually a minor hassle at the dozen major airports I frequent each year. If you have TSA-pre-check, they are almost a non-factor at all.

I can remember being selected for additional screening maybe once a year over the past 5-6 years, and it takes less than 2-3 minutes extra time. I dislike the idea of TSA much more than their actual inconvenience.
 
paflyer said:
Can't you just get a full refund if you don't use it?

Or you can change the date to the next trip, maybe indefinitely.
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HA!

Delta charged me 250 to change my plane ticket two weeks or so in advance to a sooner date. That seemed bizarre to me because I either freed up a seat for someone on the waiting list or gave the airline more time to sell that seat.

Honestly, I don't mind commercial flying. It is what you make it of course. On a leg over 2 hours I spring the 20 or 30 bucks for economy plus which will pay for itself in free booze and on the newer planes a free movie as well, not to mention more leg room and reserved overheads. I always try to dress professionally when flying and that seems to get a better level of service out of the gate agents and flight attendants as well or maybe its the smile. A simple good morning, how are you tends to make the neighbors a little more personable as well (just breaking that invisible wall and making everyone realize you are a person as well works wonders).

Overall, I think of it as an adventure. Im typically glued to the window and follow along on fore flight looking for airports and interesting features below us. I get to eat a lot of food on layovers and those biscoff cookies aren't so bad either.
 
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Traveling across the world in a metal tube that weighs 250000 pounds plus going 600mph is pretty amazing to me. Sure some of the aspects suck but if you look at the big picture, it really is amazing.
 
I find it can be awesome or sucky, depending on your flight.

I have been squished between two huge fat dudes who didn't wear deodorant and drank too much the night before. No armrests, horrible stank squishing me. Zero percent fun.

I just flew Delta to Orlando and back. $209 per person, and it was direct, so from Minneapolis to Orlando in two hours, 40 minutes??? Are you crazy, that's amazing! I sat next to a skinny lady, so I had plenty of room.


TSA sucked the tushal unit out of Orlando. Sorry, not their fault, just the process. From MN, they waved us through the metal detector (we have small kids), like it was a mere formality. In Orlando, they separated me from my wife and kids, and had me go through the "weird futuristic junk-scanning machine".

My pants were hanging down, because I wasn't wearing my belt, and I've lost a little weight. So the machine noted the gap in my pants, and they asked me to hike them up, and roll them, so it was tight against my crotch. Really? Seriously? You have no other way to verify I'm not going to blow up this flight other than scanning my crotch? Lots of crotch-bombs going off here lately? I passed your metal detector, right? What do you believe is hiding in my crotch?

Of course I said none of this. What are you going to do?

Anyway, after pushing my drawers up my butt with uncomfortably rolled up pants (I think that's where the "TSA rape comment" comes from), finally the machine was happy, and they patted down my right leg to make sure.

That was my only complaint. Really, that's how we find stuff that could damage a plane?

TSA pre-check from now on, when I fly again. They trust me to fly a smaller one of these things, but I'm being scrutinized being a passenger. It was humiliating. See those blonde kids and wife over there waiting for me? This is embarassing, they think daddy is in trouble.
:mad2:
 
I've really only had one bad airline flight. London to Toronto on Air Canada and they changed my seat from a window seat (awesome) to a middle seat in the middle of a 3-4-3 777 (awful). The meal was horrid even by economy standards and the flight was late. I usually fly United internationally and all flights have been great. Delta to Peru a few years ago was great too. Besides the AC flight I've had very few issues with commercial flights.

I will say, however, that our TSA could learn a lot from their English and German counterparts.
 
100 miles or less we drive.

100-600 it's Cessna time.

600+ and you absolutely positively must be there ... airline time.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Lol, well I'm no fan of the airlines, but I seriously question some of the animosity here. Getting "raped" by the TSA is just such a stretch from what usually happens. Granted I travel enough that I justified the "pre-check" expense, but walking through a detector and removing metal/shoes is about the worst of it. With pre-check, I just remove the metal and walk through with my shoes on. I don't have to open my back, pull the laptop out, etc. I'm all for calling TSA a waste of time and resources given their intended purpose, but if you aren't stupid they are usually a minor hassle at the dozen major airports I frequent each year. If you have TSA-pre-check, they are almost a non-factor at all.

I can remember being selected for additional screening maybe once a year over the past 5-6 years, and it takes less than 2-3 minutes extra time. I dislike the idea of TSA much more than their actual inconvenience.
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This is how it was done in the "old days", pre 9-11. What is now "pre-check" should be the routine for 99.99% of travelers, not a privileged few.
 
jordane93 said:
Traveling across the world in a metal tube that weighs 250000 pounds plus going 600mph is pretty amazing to me. Sure some of the aspects suck but if you look at the big picture, it really is amazing.
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I agree, but you obviously haven't had the middle seat next to this guy yet.

passenger_1532425a.jpg
 
sitting in an airline lounge right now. The bad news is I have a 9 hour layover. The good news is it took me over 4 hours in line at customs so the layover seems shorter now.
 
jaymark6655 said:
Guess I am crazy, but I would rather fly myself even SFO to MIA. Of course it is usually an 1.5 hour drive to a major airport, when I live closer to run that I can use and same on the destination end, 7 minutes to 30 minutes drive usually. Then the whole getting raped by TSA, getting charged for luggage/having it lost, not being able to carry on something, not having my carry on fit because someone else is hogging the bin, not fitting in my seat, sitting next to two guys my size who don't stay in the confines of their seat area. Having two or three lay overs sometimes over an hour long. Having to show up 2 hours early to get raped by TSA just so you can make it to your gate on time, but then the flight is late. Missing your layover because the first flight was late and no other flights for the day.

With layovers and showing up to the airport early and drive time to commercial airports, even a 172 should beat most commercial flight times as long as fuel stops don't run longer than 30 minutes.
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If you are suggesting a C172 can beat an airliner SFO to MIA you absolutely live in Colorado, as it is apparent you are inhaling some arrant weed.
First, don't forget all your flight planning and preflight. Second, don't forget you Will likely need to stay overnight somewhere, at least once if not twice.
Third, three layovers??? Two is reasonable, but I bet there are some non stops between those cities.
Fourth.. Getting raped by the TSA?? And you say THEY are practicing theater??

As I've said before, there are indeed some trips that a C172 are more suited for. SFO to MIA is not one of them.
 
paflyer said:
This is how it was done in the "old days", pre 9-11. What is now "pre-check" should be the routine for 99.99% of travelers, not a privileged few.
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Oh I remember, back when family could meet you at the gate. I agree that the pre-check method should be sufficient for the rest of the populace, but even the regular version doesn't normally cause too much fuss unless you refuse to follow the published protocols regarding liquids and such.

The airlines have no real say in that process anyhow.
 
Art VanDelay said:
And who is actually responsible for that ? Maybe the traveling public that think air travel is a constitutionally guarunteed right. If you want to shlep yourself and all of your crap from one side of this country to the other for less than the cost of driving it in a Prius then guess what - it ain't likely to be pretty.
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paflyer said:
The "bus people" have been accommodated with cheap tickets at the expense to those of us who value a less steerage-class experience and would be willing to pay a premium.
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Paflyer covers my view of it. Try finding a carrier specializing in 1980s seat sizes and pitches on their entire fleet, you won't find them. Let's not even discuss the garbage known as "airline food".

So here's the story from last night. It's SWA. I have no problem with SWA. I know what I'm getting into. But someone, maybe Art, recently said "You make airline travel inexpensive enough for the common man, you get the common man..." or similar.

I got two common men. Two total idiot common men.

Idiot #1 was an A-Lister with an attitude. You're boarding first on SWA dude, you're not booking the Presidential Suite on a Crystal Cruise ship. You aren't exactly all you think you are...

Dude is black. I only mention it because it becomes important later. He's also big and athletic and did only ONE smart thing. He went straight for an exit row window seat. Bravo dude.

I've also got a high numbered A boarding slot so I know how this works. One FA even joked about it during the outbound leg:

A) Pick a great seat. Your carryon will definitely fit in the bin.
B) Still aisle and window seats available, bins are filling up. Plan wisely.
C) You're screwed. Jam whatever you have under the seat in front of you and hug your knees the whole flight in your middle seat.

Okay. A-Lister is cranking some tunes from his earbuds I can hear two rows away but I'm happy I've got an aisle exit row seat. Life looks to be the usual "good" for SWA.

I sit down and get a bit situated knowing someone is gonna want that center seat for the legroom.

Here's where the stupid starts. A-Lister is playing the "make the center seat look occupied" game with his backpack. His music is so loud he can't hear or doesn't want to hear he nearly continuous announcements that the flight is completely full and don't bother trying the hold a seat or act sick games. (The lead FA even just flat out says this on her PA announcements. They know the dog eat dog world of SWA seating and they're always nice enough to let everyone know when the game rules change. Seriously. It's a game. And it helps if you know the rules.)

The only black FA has our cabin section and here's where the SUPER stupid starts. A-Lister starts hitting on the FA.

Now I've done enough business travel to know this is about as stupid as it gets. A) She gets this BS all the time and B) you idiot, you just ****ed her off and the entire row is going to suffer for this. You're are a fffffing moron. He doubles and triples down. She tells him the seat will be taken, he says, "How about you slide over here in it, girl?"

Oh Fffffff. She's going to spit in his Coke. Hope she doesn't get mine for good measure or think I'm traveling with him.

So now we have a ****ed off FA and one HUGE muscular guy (did I mention he already doesn't fit in his seat and he's over the inner armrest?) and here's where I was mildly impressed. We get the B listers seated and we're about the middle of the C listers and seats are filling up.

FA *tries* to convince a relatively skinny tall decent looking girl that she'll enjoy the extra legroom of the center seat. She points and says, "You can sit there if *those guys* will move that bag since they're going to have to anyway."

Awwww sh... Yep. She's decided I'm with Stupid over there with his earbuds still cranked so loud he can't hear her. I joke, "I'm not holding it, he should move the bag." He can't even hear me snarking about him. Lost in his own ego world over there. Then all of a sudden, Idiot #1 pulls out an earbud and starts *hitting on the FA again*. Oh fffffffff me.

I'm seconds from just giving up the seat and heading for the back to fight my way to a center seat where my knees will have to be surgically removed from my forehead just to get away from the idiot. Karen is across the aisle in the other aisle exit row seat and I briefly think that she'd wonder why I moved. She's been reading and blocked from hearing most of this by the FA's butt.

I stay.

Tall girl is so unimpressed by this jack wagon that she not only retreats, she swims upstream back to a seat she saw *forward*. A sure sign things have really gone to hell in a hand basket during the standard SWA Seat Game. Wow.

I sit there figuring ok, at least I'm not in that center seat with idiot #1 pushing on my shoulder the whole flight.

FA finally reaches over and grabs the guy's backpack and tosses it in his lap. He yanks an earbud again and gets mouthy with her, "Whoa! Baby! Don't touch my bag! I got special *stuff* in there! Special stuff!"

OMG I want to punch him.

Airplane fills. And continues to fill. And... Completely fills.

And then Idiot #2 shows up.

I hear the FA say, "You'll have to sit there sir", as she points and someone is coming up from behind.

Something knocks me sideways toward the center seat and then before I can even get up, a dude the size and body type of an NBA power defender jumps over my legs, turning in mid-air and lands in the center seat, at which point he realizes his mistake as he crashes into idiot #1's arm and is shoved over halfway into my seat. I get pushed over the frigging armrest into the aisle.

Great. Frigging Larry Bird complete with basketball clothes and backwards baseball cap just showed up and is using half of my seat. My legs are great. But my upper body even as a not-small dude is no match for these two idiots on anabolic steroids. They're both wider than two Kardashian's asses combined and we now have a cozy arrangement where as long as half of my upper body is shoved into the aisle, we can all actually fit in the row. Ffffffffffffffff.

I look over at Karen who's across the aisle in a group of three normal sized humans and grimace. She hints that maybe we should switch but I realize even she won't fit with these two meatheads. I'll just stand for as much of the flight as possible and run my minor risk of being bounced off the ceiling by CAT. Seriously. I now officially do not care at all about this flight. I know at my age I'm going to hurt all flight from the awkward contortions to even sit in a frigging seat, and I'll be paying for it tomorrow when I wake up too, if I don't spent a half hour stretching when I finally get home.

Idiot #2's real mistake here is in not understanding the SWA seat game. If you're a big freaking human, pay the extra $40 and get in the A group, take an aisle or window and if you can get it, in an exit or bulkhead row, and get yourself situated before the little people arrive. Seriously dummy.

Okay so he's huge, but he's only shown himself to be a *partial* idiot. He doesn't understand the SWA game and now I'm going to pay for it with one hell of a backache later.

But he and the other idiot won't stop there... I should have known.

FA asks the required question about being willing to assist in an exit row and meathead #2 decides this is a good time to mouth off. YGTBFKM. "Are you willing..."

"No I'm not willing and I hate this damn seat!"

FA glares at him. She's now ready to punch someone too. He says one bad thing about her personally and they're going to have to take him off the flight because I'm going to say something to goad him into taking a swing at me to get rid of him. Seriously.

I'm folded halfway into the aisle anyway. What's a punch? Might as well turn this into the true SWA "experience"! LOL

He sees the glare and realizes by the look on my face and hers that he's about to have the hell beat out of him so he starts in with the "I was only joking, just a joke, but I really don't fit in this seat *m'aam* (oh boy... she's not that old and you just used the word... you really *are* idiot #2...)." Look dude... You don't know the SWA Seat Hunger Games rules and you'd better just shut up. You're already using half of *my* seat and I'm already glaring at you for it. STFU and sit there.

I think it's over. Now I can just spend my $8 for slow internet and enjoy distracting myself with PoA and keep standing up to slow the inevitable lower back ache and pinched nerves this lovely experience will bring. Sip a nice Coke Zero and ignore the two idiots and go home. I enjoyed my vacation and they're not going to ruin that for me. Just this cattle car ride for 3:45.

All is well until the first FA comes by taking drink orders. Anyone who knows SWA knows they pre-order it all and make up a chart and bring them on the next pass.

Idiot #1 pulls an earbud and loudly asks for a Coke and "You got them pretzels!? I need some pretzels!"

FA is beyond ****ed with him. "I'm taking *drink* orders! Snacks will come through later and yes there are pretzels.

"Okay but I need lots of pretzels! And you're supposed to bring them to me!"

I'm wondering if she'll outright poison his drink. OMG. What an ass.

Idiot #2 manages to order a cranberry juice without saying something stupid. He even says "thank you". Maybe there's hope.

Snack box comes by. Idiot #1 is now accosting FA 2 about pretzels, "You got my pretzels? I told the other *waitress* I needed lots of pretzels!" FA 2 starts out surprised and then instantly super ticked by the term, waitress.

I really want to kill one or the other of these guys now. Back is starting to bug me. I wonder where we'll divert into if I ***** slap one of them.

She gives him a bag of pretzels and another bag of something else. Idiot 2 wants cookies. This will be important later.

Well not that much later. To finish this up, *every single time* ANY FA walks by Idiot 1 hollers (he's now totally deaf from his music) that he wants more pretzels and another Coke, and Idiot 2 follows his lead and wants another cranberry juice and more cookies.

Around juice number three and cookie bag four is when I started this thread.

Total count was four cranberry juices, five bags of cookies, four Cokes, and I don't know how many pretzel bags.

Only part that made it worthwhile was after we landed and parked at the gate, I stood up to await the usual orderly offloading by row and just happened to notice meathead 2 was going to stand up. He's still in the middle seat. I opened the overhead bin and let it tap him in the baseball cap. Haha. Moron. I can stand up on the aisle. You can't yet. I caught the bin and didn't let it hit him hard. Just kinda positioned it as he stood up into it. LOL.

I put on my best "oops" face and smiled at him and the FA who they'd annoyed the whole flight as I grabbed a small box of treats we had bought for friends on our trip, all I had in he overhead, but small and light enough nobody would think I was messing with him, since you couldn't have pulled a roller bag out yet.

But I can play "dumb tourist who really wants his box of treats so he won't forget them" pretty well. Hahahahahaha.

I swear I saw the FA trying to stifle a giggle. I hope so.

Everyone made it safely to our destination, and that was that.

SWA only goes sideways when some idiots don't know how to play by the cattle car rules. I hope idiot 2 got thumped good by the nub on top of his baseball cap on backward the entire flight.
 
By the way, I know "discrimination" and all that rot, but my entire experience would be avoided if the airlines would just put a "measuring seat" out front like those measuring things for checked luggage and if your steroid induced muscle-bound upper torso doesn't fit in the thing, or you're amongst the growing members of the population who are a hundred pounds past the clinical definition of "morbidly obese", you win the Grand Prize... You get to buy two seats to haul your oversized butt to where ever you're headed.
 
My wife and I have gracefully reached that stage in life where I insist we fly first class I don't care if it's a two hour flight.

It's worth it.

Much cheaper than an arrest. Or a divorce. :lol:
 
txflyer said:
My wife and I have gracefully reached that stage in life where I insist we fly first class I don't care if it's a two hour flight.

It's worth it.

Much cheaper than an arrest. Or a divorce. :lol:
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I made the mistake of taking my kids in international business. Now they complain on every flight.

For only a little bit of money you can get global entry, an airlinecredit card with benefits and a 'economy plus' seat which avoids most of the gripes aired here. I show up less than an hour before departure carry@on only, walk through the magnetometer in the 'Pre' line and have just enough time for a cup of coffee.
Occasionally, like past week, a blizzard will make for a long travel day. Even then, the airline staff worked hard to get everyone where they had to be.
Whiners.
 
My worst flight ever: Danang-Singapore-fuel stop in Moscow-IAH. I was sitting at a bulkhead....along side infant triplets in bassinets. When one wasn't crying, another one was. 24 freaking hours. Now, when I'm flying coach, I get the seat all the way in the back, next to the galley.
 
txflyer said:
My wife and I have gracefully reached that stage in life where I insist we fly first class I don't care if it's a two hour flight.

It's worth it.

Much cheaper than an arrest. Or a divorce. :lol:
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Agreed. On all three points.
But First isn't what it used to be either.
 
None of the US carriers (what are there, three now?) are anything to write home about, but why anyone would subject themselves to the dregs on Southworst is beyond me. Maybe just to write amusing stories.
 
paflyer said:
Agreed. On all three points.
But First isn't what it used to be either.
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Agreed.

The last really 'good' flight we had was L.A. to Honolulu on a 747 first class.

You board first, are led to a roomy seat that reclines and immediately asked if there is anything you would like to drink or a pillow or blanket. It made the trip in a way because you're not dredding the cattle car for eight hours. I remember looking back at coach and thinking "those poor bastards."
 
txflyer said:
Agreed.

The last really 'good' flight we had was L.A. to Honolulu on a 747 first class.

You board first, are led to a roomy seat that reclines and immediately asked if there is anything you would like to drink or a pillow or blanket. It made the trip in a way because you're not dredding the cattle car for eight hours. I remember looking back at coach and thinking "those poor bastards."
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In the good old days you wouldn't have to look at them because there would be an opaque curtain between you and the rabble.
 
paflyer said:
None of the US carriers (what are there, three now?) are anything to write home about, but why anyone would subject themselves to the dregs on Southworst is beyond me. Maybe just to write amusing stories.
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Hey I'll be honest and provide Art some ammo... I got eight legs for $180.

But like I said, it only works if you know the Hunger Games Seat Rules.

All it takes is one idiot to screw up the whole thing. LOL!

Eight legs of trying not to run into an azzhat on SWA was one leg too many. ;)
 
paflyer said:
Sad part is that wasn't even his set; he lost his balance heading up the aisle to the can and fell backwards.

passenger_1532425a.jpg
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...and a second earlier, you could see a little guy sitting in that seat.
 
Entertaining read. Thanks for posting. Puts my travel woes in decent perspective.

Couple funny stories of traveling with my daughter, once when she was almost 2and another when she was still about 6 mos.

I used to fly Comtinental exclusively as I grew up in Cleveland and then lived near Houston for about 10 years, so I got upgraded regularly. If flew to Cleveland once on business and decided to take my 2 year old daughter. All my fellow business travelers were horrified to have to sit near me and my lap kid. They figured like a I used to that "here we go, nothing but crying and commotion for the whole ride". The lady next to me went so far as to tell me she did not like kids before the doors even closed. What's funny is that during the flight she started interacting with my daughter and when the flight was over she said "she was a good kid"! She got another compliment on the plane too. What's also funny is that for a few years after my kids were beyond "baby crying age", babies on airplanes did not big me...now that I'm further removed from that stage of life, I dread it too!

Now on to the 6 mo old story. I needed to be in LA for same day afternoon meeting and next day return and wife wanted to visit her folks in Texas with my daughter for the week. So we take a flight to IAH where we would go our separate ways. I am in the aisle, wife is in the middle seat, and daughter is in our lap. She usually naps after a bottle. We wait until the door closes and give her a bottle. She starts to fidget after the bottle like she's gonna stay up for a while...wierd. So we wait a bit and then decide to try a second bottle. Daughter finishes the second bottle and gets even more "active". Never cries, just real active. Wife and I keep switching back and forth holding her. By now we're at cruising altitude and flight attendants are up. I am holding her strait up facing me when she finally shows us why she was fussy...gassy, she projectile burps/spits up one of the two bottles at my neck, down my dress shirt, and onto my nice pants. Surprise daddy! I hand her to my wife, and then call for a flight attendant. Guy next to my wife is horrified, lady across the aisle from me is disgusted. I stand up and there is a puddle of puke pooled on my seat. Flight attendant brings me I swear 5 cocktail napkins, and ran away as fast as she could! I go to the bathroom and grab a stack of paper towels and begin the seat absorption. I head back to the bathroom to change my clothes, as I'm soaked to my underwear in puke...now the dilemma...I am meeting with a group of government environmental regulators in Cali that afternoon...I have one change of clothes for the ride back the next morning- jeans and a mossy oak camo nice turtleneck (it was hunting season). I think "no way am I going to go sit in a meeting with a bunch of liberal tree hungers with my camo and try to ask for what I need, gotta get the job done right". So I decide to go with jeans and leave my white undershirt on (stuff dries quickly on a plane). I get back to my seat and daughter is fast asleep. fast forward to LA and I meet with my consultants who will pick me up- never met them before and they are in sport coats and ties. I apologize right off the bat and tell them the story and that is why I look like a bum, white undershirt with nasty yellow stains, and a smell like Parmesan cheese. They laughed it off and said that would give them an excuse to ditch the jackets and ties. We did not have any time to spare to pick up a new shirt, so we headed to the meeting. As it turned out, the head guy we were meeting with at the agency was wearing a flowered Hawaiian shirt, ripped jeans, and sandals; I fit in just fine and they chuckled at the story, which made the meeting go even better than it would have otherwise.

Anyway, that story never gets old, just thought I'd share since I was "that guy" on an airplane that was the horror to all the passengers.
 
Is that fat guy sitting with the armrest up his ass?

Which brings me to another observation only my sick mind can think of.

I see people so fat and you look at their arm length in relation to their body and I have to ask ... how do they wipe their ass? Curious minds don't really want to know, but you gotta wonder ... ?
 
About 15 years ago my wife and I were riding the airlines (I refuse to call that 'flying') from SEA to LHR via SFO and JFK (or was it EWR? Too many years ago). On the SFO to JFK leg she and I were seated window and aisle in regular cattle car (this was before I could sponsor someone into E+) with the middle seat and they were about to close the door. Just before they did a lady, a 6th grader and two toddlers came walking down the isle. Two available seats, the one between us and the aisle across from me. The 6th grader with one toddler as a lap child sat between us and the mother and other toddler sat in the aisle seat.

After about half the flight with toddlers with full diapers being handed across me I went aft to the head and then spent some time BSing with the FAs. They were wondering why I was in regular E and I told them about my wife being with me. Then they wanted to know what I thought about the situation with the toddlers. I told them that sh*t happens and there wasn't much I could do about it. I spent a good deal of the remainder of the flight back there.

My wife and I were really happy to see that they weren't continuing on to LHR on our next flight. It would have been just our luck...

Then there was a flight back to the west coast on USAir from Philly. A guy was introducing himself to everyone in the boarding area. Weird. Then after we got on the plane he was across the aisle and one row behind me. He continued the game in introducing himself to everyone as they went by, with a different name each time. The purser had been watching this act for a while and when the idiot introduced himself as "Dan Cooper" the purser proceeded to kick him off the flight. I thanked the purser for that. I'm from the northwest and I know who "Dan Cooper" was and that was the final straw for this clown.

Airline travel can be interesting. Unfortunately, many (most?) of my trips are to places where a 182 just isn't going to make it. Trans-Pac and trans-Atlantic flights are going to be in the pressurized aluminum mailing tubes. There just isn't another way. Trans-con trips are much the same. Oh well, maybe in 8 years or so I'll cut back. :D
 
Ghery said:
After about half the flight with toddlers with full diapers being handed across me I went aft to the head and then spent some time BSing with the FAs. I spent a good deal of the remainder of the flight back there.
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Can't do that anymore, either. TSA Rules, you know.
 
jordane93 said:
Traveling across the world in a metal tube that weighs 250000 pounds plus going 600mph is pretty amazing to me. Sure some of the aspects suck but if you look at the big picture, it really is amazing.
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It's amazing compared to what travel was like 100 years ago. Very true.

I don't mind it being a commodity. I like being able to travel semi-cheaply. An upgrade ticket isn't worth it to me. For whatever reason, I have not had some of the unfortunate seatmates that others have had, even though I travel by airline a fair amount. Strangely, I don't mind it nearly as much as I did +-20 years ago when I would do anything to avoid it (including trying Amtrak). But I didn't fly much in those days. Once I started doing it more it became just like getting on a bus.
 
Kritchlow said:
If you are suggesting a C172 can beat an airliner SFO to MIA you absolutely live in Colorado, as it is apparent you are inhaling some arrant weed.
First, don't forget all your flight planning and preflight. Second, don't forget you Will likely need to stay overnight somewhere, at least once if not twice.
Third, three layovers??? Two is reasonable, but I bet there are some non stops between those cities.
Fourth.. Getting raped by the TSA?? And you say THEY are practicing theater??

As I've said before, there are indeed some trips that a C172 are more suited for. SFO to MIA is not one of them.
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No I didn't count my preflight and flight planning time. Yes that trip would require an overnight stay, but to me its worth it compared to what commercial travel has put me through.

I take anywhere from 2 to 5 flights a year for work. Last year it was two, once from Indiana to Nevada and the other to Virginia. From starting point to end including the drive to and from airport, the 172 would have made the trip 3 hours faster than the commercial trip. The biggest factor is the layovers and the drive to the airport. Yeah commercial can be faster, but I don't get to choose my flights and I am lucky if I only have two layovers.

With all this commercial flying, I have had one (after 9/11) were the TSA did not select me for additional screening which included a pat down and empting out my carry on. I don't know what they think I am carrying, it is just laptop, gps, cloths, pens and a few books and the laptop is already out. Once I even had to get my checked luggage back and take it to a screening and that was the one time I flew in uniform because I was reporting to my next school after boot camp. :dunno: So I guess, I haven't been bent over a counter yet if that is what it takes to qualify.

The one flight that were I didn't get any special attention was from the Bahamas, I was carrying on my dive weights and they do look like explosives on the Xray. Screener just asked what it was didn't even have me open the bag to verify.
 
DesertNomad said:
I only fly commercial when my plane won't do. It would be hard to fly my Dakota from Nevada to Ethiopia.
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Same here. If my plane won't fit the mission, I either drive or go commercial.
Such as next week when I need to go 500 miles to pick up my new airplane. :D
For that, I am willing to put up with an airline. ;)
 
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